Between today’s comfortable routines and tomorrow’s possibilities, lies a maze of uncertainty, unfamiliarity and discomfort. The ability to confidently and competently complete this journey — the archetypal journey of all human growth — stands as one of the greatest determinants of success, both organizational and personal.

Unfortunately, there is a broadly-held assumption that teams and individuals either have the magical ability to lean into fear and seek sustained uncertainty, to stomach failures and brush aside judgements — or they don’t. And that is simply not true. Navigating change and growth is a trainable, repeatable skill.

Drawing on experiences from three decades of expeditions, and sharing his learnings from the competitive realms of television production, photography, and writing, Bruce Kirkby lays out the universal obstacles to change and growth — fear, failure, judgement, crisis, and paralysis – and shows audiences how to transform these obstacles into signals, illuminating the path towards future innovation, creativity, and success.

Over the course of more than 30 years working exclusively with Charities and Not-for-Profit organizations, speaker Deryck Williams has witnessed almost every type of CEO succession. He will share stories of success and failure, insights and lessons learned, and provide you with takeaways that challenge conventional thinking. Whether you are a board member who will have to make a call on a new CEO, a staff or volunteer who will experience the result, or a leader who aspires (or should aspire) to the CEO role; expect challenging food for thought and action.

Blockchain is revolutionizing most sectors and is currently making a significant impact in the not for profit sector. Blockchain solves many challenges including: Payments, Tracking & Reporting. Attendees will learn the basics about: Blockchain, Cryptocurrencies, Smart Contracts as well as existing use cases. What may have sounded like science fiction a year ago is now in the market. Join this informative and engaging session to learn and find out how you can participate in this technological revolution.

Organization’s need to continually evolve and change in order to thrive in today's environment. One area of growing interest for organizations and funders are "pay for success" or outcome funding models. These types of of commercial partnerships or impact investing come in many forms. Join this panel as we discuss the various issues that arise both legal and from a practical experience.

Miller Thomson LLP, MaRS Centre for Impact Investing and Heart and Stroke Foundation will share their experience implementing the first federally funded impact bond in Canada.

We will cover 4 hot compliance topics that affect either NPOS, registered charities or both including:• CRA's NPO Risk Identification Program and concern over non-profits making a profit • Corporate legislative changes, objects and ONCA – to change now or wait• Restricted gifts – well intentioned restrictions can have unintended consequences and undermine the mission of the organization• Issuing official donation receipts – CRA says that when they audit charities 89% have receipting problems and how to avoid the most common problems.

Allocating funds to anything other than “direct mission expenses” is something that charities take very seriously, particularly when donor donations are involved. Making decisions about where to invest those precious dollars to be sure they yield the very best return can be daunting. How much should we invest? And where will we get the greatest “bang for our buck”? While the questions are universal, the answers are different for each organization depending on their starting point and objectives.

Although the right answers will always be unique, Celeste Bannon Waterman, Senior Vice-President Research & Analytics, KCI (Ketchum Canada Inc.) will provide data on current trends and benchmarks to inform the decision making process. Using quantitative and qualitative information gathered by KCI’s Research Practice, she will share information to help you take a data-driven approach to these decisions, as well as insight on where smart charities are prioritizing their investments.

An expert perspective on insurance trends and how to protect our organizations

Speaker: Joel Cohen, Partner RSM Canada

Our speaker will provide useful and practical examples to help not-for-profits navigate through liability, cyber and other trending insurance topics. As not-for-profits we have unique requirements to protect our organizations, our Board’s interests and our volunteers from risk and this session will provide a useful overview of those things we need to be aware of.

Culture is the heart that provides life to all areas of the organization. Creating an inclusive and open culture can greatly improve employee engagement, retention, performance and satisfaction; as well as create a resilient organization ready to thrive through change. Many organizations, regardless of industry strive to create this optimal environment; however, taking the time and action needed to transform culture, especially in a not-for-profit environment where resources are often limited, can be challenging. Join Jeff Smith, COO of Mobify, who will share his experiences with transforming culture over a lengthy and accomplished career spanning many industries, including not-for-profit. In this 3-part presentation we will cover the concepts of inclusion, creating a culture of openness and what actions you can take now to set you on a path to an open, resilient and inclusive culture.

Most charities have developed long standing fundraising programs based on personal wealth indicators from the 1990’s to early 2000’s. As Canada goes through a significant demographic shift a new type of prospect research, deeply integrating major and planned giving will be vital to the ongoing success of individual giving revenue. What are the methods to find, ask and engage these unusual suspects? A new era of collaboration between finance and fundraising is essential and we will explore case studies of how to do this effectively, efficiently and what education can help your team to make this vital shift for the next decade of funding.

The demands of being a leader of a not for profit or charitable organization in Canada are ever changing. As a leader, ensuring your organization remains relevant and at top performance also requires continual evaluation of the skills of the employee base, the needs of those you serve and the expectation of those who fund the operations. This session will dive into how executive leaders in this sector stay ahead of changing expectations to enhance sustainability. Join us to hear from your peers, separated between a session specific to not for profit versus charitable organizations, knowing there are some unique differences between the two sub-sectors.

The demands of being a leader of a not for profit or charitable organization in Canada are ever changing. As a leader, ensuring your organization remains relevant and at top performance also requires continual evaluation of the skills of the employee base, the needs of those you serve and the expectation of those who fund the operations. This session will dive into how executive leaders in this sector stay ahead of changing expectations to enhance sustainability. Join us to hear from your peers, separated between a session specific to not for profit versus charitable organizations, knowing there are some unique differences between the two sub-sectors.

Early Bird Session: Legal Issues in Social Media for Charities and NFPs

Speaker: Terrance Carter, Managing Partner, Carters

With the use of social media by charities and not-for-profits (NFPs) continuing to rise, so too are privacy and liability risks associated with the use of social media continuing to rise. In this regard, it is important for charities and NFPs, as well as their directors, senior management, and professional advisors to understand the legal aspects, implications and consequences of using social media, and to effectively mitigate those risks while still reaping the benefits of using social media.

To that end, this presentation will discuss some of the benefits and drawbacks of using social media, applicable privacy issues, CRA regulatory issues, online fundraising issues, as well as intellectual property issues with using social media. The presentation will conclude with a discussion on how to implement effective risk management policies in order to manage those risks.

At the conclusion of this presentation, participants will be able to: 1. Understand the benefits and pitfalls of charities and NFPs using social media; 2. Identify key privacy law issues (e.g. PIPEDA and common law liability), CRA regulatory issues, online fundraising issues, as well as intellectual property issues with using social media; 3. Develop and implement risk management plan policies to assist in mitigating potential liability of charities and NFPs using social media.

8:30 - 9:30

Keynote Address: Technology Trends - How NFPs can do more with less

Speaker: Nejeed Kassam, Founder and CEO, Keela

Technology continues to play an increasingly pivotal role in society today and that role will only become larger. It is essential for not-for-profit organizations to understand and embrace technological change and disruption in order to continue to thrive. Whether you are a member organization or looking to impact social change through your activities, resources can often be tight. In this opening address Nejeed Kassam, entrepreneur, innovator, global change agent and founder and CEO of Keela will explore some of the technological trends on the horizon today and different ways not-for-profits can keep up with these trends and continue to thrive in an environment with limited resources.

Join digital experts from leading organizations; Canadian Cancer Society, ALS Society of Canada and Cystic Fibrosis Canada that have very successfully used social media platforms to build community momentum. Whatever your digital goals, this session moderated by NFP digital engagement expert Chris Stevenson (Ripple Creative Strategy), will provide you with valuable input and insight from industry experts to use social media to your organizations advantage and create an engaged community through various social platforms.

Making Money the Old Fashioned Way – How Charities and Not for Profits Can Engage in Business and Social Enterprise

Speaker: Adam Aptowitzer, Managing Partner, Drache Aptowitzer LLP

Charities and NFPs are seeking new revenue streams but both of these organizations face legal restrictions on engaging in such ventures. Understanding these restrictions is key to evaluating the risks of getting involved in such operations and ensuring the proceeds from these activities remain tax – free. This session will review the various tax and corporate laws applicable to these organizations and provide some alternatives for the problems they face.

The charity sector is constantly evolving. We will look at a few recent developments that impact charities including the Charities Directorate moving to electronic charity applications and T3010 filings, particular CRA audit concerns, and recent CRA guidances affecting charities.

The purpose of this session will be to ensure you understand the expectations of management and the Board to protect your organization from cyber risks, and practical tips on what you can do to protect your organization in today’s global cyber environment. Also what you can do to ensure your employees, suppliers and customers understand their accountability to assist in protecting against cyber-fraud. The optimal goal being that you are always on the offensive rather than reacting once an emergency has occurred. John will assist you in staying a few steps ahead of the emerging cyber risks.

Time is a precious resource so you want to ensure you are providing your Board with the information it needs to do their job efficiently and effectively. Finding that balance between too much and too little or the right versus wrong information can be difficult. Join our panelists of CEO’s, CFO’s and Board members to hear what has worked for them and what hasn’t.

New technologies, intensified competition and changing generational expectations have accelerated the complexity and pace at which not-for-profit organizations are forming collaborations. As a result, organizational leaders are rethinking how they compete and operate in the larger system. New competencies are required, like the ability to manage decision-making when authority and accountability is beyond the domain of a single organization. This session will explore the changed collaboration landscape; identify the competencies required for success; and share some great approaches. It will also identify the board’s unique responsibilities related to collaboration and how they can keep ‘nose in and fingers out.

In the complex and ever changing not-for-profit industry, effective leadership skills are a critical success factor.

Transformational Leadership encompasses many effective leadership practices and behaviours we already know, but requires they be better integrated to make the theory more applicable. In this session, we are going to demystify this highly critical aspect of leadership and, through concrete examples, illustrate why it is such a differentiator at the executive level. The session will touch on presence, personal brand, leading with purpose and vision, social intelligence, and growing others on your team. The lessons learned from this session will guide your leadership journey as you navigate the complex not-for-profit industry.

Canadian tax rules that impact tax exempt status, risks and considerations, and planning techniques to minimize the risk• Political purposes (interpretation and compliance)• Disbursement quota• Operating related/unrelated businesses• Revenue generation and the impact of the structure within which you earn revenue• Any legislative updates

Undertaking business activities • Rules and risks• Considerations and options for Charities and NPO’s

12:30-1:30

Lunch

1:30-2:30

Gifting considerations

Overview of different type of gifts, taxation implications and receipting • Taxation, administration and other issues to look out for with different types of gifts (including bequests, securities, in-kind, insurance, online, third-party and more…) • Receipting different types of gifts (CRA receipting guidelines and examples of different receipting types).